Conventionally, two-wheeled motor vehicles have been equipped with a support mechanism for maintaining the vehicle in an upright horizontal position above the road surface when parked. Traditionally, the support member itself has been mounted on the underside of the vehicle's chassis, somewhat to the rear of the center part of the vehicle's front to rear longitudinal axis. Likewise, in the traditional vehicle, the drive mechanism for pivoting the support member between its retracted and upright position when activated has been mounted on the underside of the vehicle's chassis or on the side of the chassis.
However, this central area on the under side of the vehicle's chassis and to the rear of this area has generally been occupied by the engine or other power devices, the transmission, the power train, and/or associated auxillary devices. Accordingly, spatial interference from these devices has limited mounting arrangements for the support member and the support member drive mechanism.
Particularly, in those vehicles where a floor panal has been formed at the central part of the vehicle's chassis to provide foot rests, virtually no installation space remains for the support member and its drive mechanism. This problem is further aggravated in those vehicles where the engine, drive shaft, power train, and associated auxillary devices have been combined in a unified power unit installed towards the rear of the vehicle, in which case the support member drive mechanism must be installed in such a way that it juts out below or to the side of the vehicle. Accordingly, in such an arrangement, the support member drive mechanism is exposed to splattering mud, water, pebbles, and the like. In the case where the support member drive mechanism projects interiorly, it becomes difficult to maintain adequate road clearance. In the case where it projects laterally, the width of the vehicle is magnified. Thus, numerous difficulties which must be dealt with arise in such a configuration. The present invention proposes a means to resolve these installation problems.